gi 
THE PLANTS OF 
LECK AND NEIGHBOURHOOD, LANCASHIRE. 
LISTER PETTY, 
Ulverston. 
THE part of Lancashire in which the accompanying list was made 
is the triangular portion which runs up between Westmorland and 
Yorkshire ; between Kirkby Lonsdale and Ingleton, and whose base 
is the Lune. The boundaries are, of course, those of the above 
counties until Greta Bridge is reached, when my line follows the 
river. Within this area, with elevations of 150 ft. to 2,000 ft., 
almost every variety of situation—that is, taking into consideration 
the surface geology—may be found, the highest points being the 
County Stone on Leck Fell, 2,000 ft. and Gragreth Fell, 
station), to Burrow Mill. Anyone seeing it from the bridge at 
Burrow would have an idea that the local proverb, ‘As rough as 
Leck Beck,’ was an attempt by our forefathers to malign the stream. 
It is true, nevertheless. Thousands of tons of stones have been 
carried down by the (at Burrow Bridge) quiet-looking stream. 
Large quantities have been used for building purposes, Leck 
Church, Vicarage, Schools, and many houses. Immense quantities 
still remain, intermixed with uprooted trees and shrubs at the sides 
of the Beck, and occasionally form long islands. From whence do 
all these stones come? Follow the Beck from Long Gill to Leck, 
and the reserve supply will be seen; besides this will be seen, on 
the fell « pot-holes’ from small to deep, fantastic devices on the 
limestone, and a perfectly dry, stony gill. Across the centre portion 
of the district runs the old Roman road (roth Iter of Antoninus), 
scarcely visible in many places shown on the ordnance map of 1850, 
but unmistakable in others. As usual, the line is perfectly straight, 
though now represented by a shady lane which is not.* Thr: 
lane is called in my list the ‘ Roman road,’ which, so far as I am at 
present concerned, commences near Collin-Holme, and runs out at 
Wandle Barn, on the Westmorland boundary. The railway station 
of Kirkby Lonsdale is in Lancashire, not more than a mile and 
* The best account I know of the Roman road is in Trans. Hist. Soc. Lancs. 
and Ches., vol. i., 1849, pp. 68-76, by J. Just, who mentions the variation of the 
Present lane from the line of the original road. 
